The present invention relates to a golf club head more particularly to an improved face plate capable of improving the restitution coefficient and hit feeling without sacrificing the durability.
In recent years, in order to withstand a large impact force at the time of hitting a golf ball, a golf club head whose face portion is made of a beta-type titanium alloy, that is, a high strength metallic material, has been proposed.
In such a golf club head, however, as the face portion becomes rigid in its entirety, the restitution coefficient is decreased and hit feeling becomes worse although the durability is improved.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a golf club head, in which the restitution coefficient and hit feeling can be improved without sacrificing the durability.
According to the present invention, a golf club head comprises a ball striking face provided with a central region having a surface hardness Hc and a peripheral region surrounding the central region and having a surface hardness Hp less than the surface hardness HC.
Therefore, the restitution coefficient and hit feeling can be improved by a flexural deformation of the peripheral region at the time of hitting a golf ball, and as the central region having a relatively high surface hardness provides strength, the durability can be maintained.